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Lycia, on the southern coast of Anatolia, was first recorded in the Late Bronze Age records of ancient Egypt and the Hittite Empire. In 546 B.C. when Lycia was involuntary incorporated into the Persian Empire, the local population was decimated, and the area received an influx of Persians. Lycia fought for Persia in the Persian Wars. Intermittently free after the Greeks defeated the Achaemenid Empire, it briefly joined the Athenian Empire, it seceded and became independent, was under the Persians again, revolted again, was conquered by Mausolus of Caria, returned to the Persians, and went under Macedonian hegemony at the defeat of the Persians by Alexander the Great. Lycia was totally Hellenized under the Macedonians. The Lycian language disappeared from inscriptions and coinage. On defeating Antiochus III in 188 the Romans gave Lycia to Rhodes for 20 years, taking it back in 168 B.C. The Romans allowed home rule under the Lycian League, a federation with republican principles, which later influenced the framers of the United States Constitution. In 43 A.D. Claudius dissolved the league and made Lycia a Roman province. It was an eparchy of Byzantine Empire. A substantial Christian Greek community lived in Lycia until the 1920s when they were forced to migrate to Greece following the Greco-Turkish War.

Anatolia (Lycia?), 5th Century B.C.

Although unlisted in the major references, a similar hemidrachmtype was first published by 1897. Six obols of this type, including this coin, are listed on Coin Archives having been offered at auction in the last two decades.

The chimera was, according to Greek mythology, a monstrous fire-breathing creature of Lycia, composed of the parts of three animals - a lion, a snake, and a goat or stag. Usually depicted as a lion, with the head of a goat arising from its back, and a tail that ending with a snake's head, the Chimera was one of the offspring of Typhon and Echidna and a sibling of such monsters as Cerberus and the Lernaean Hydra. The term chimera has come to describe any mythical or fictional animal with parts taken from various animals, or to describe anything perceived as wildly imaginative or implausible.GS87477. Silver obol, 6 specimens known from auctions, otherwise unpublished; cf. Boston MFA 2325 (hemidrachm), Greenwell 1897, p. 281, 2 (= Boston MFA 2325), VF, well centered, toned, lightly etched surfaces, bumps and scratches, die wear, weight 0.662 g, maximum diameter 7.8 mm, die axis 270o, uncertain (Lycian?) mint, 5th century B.C.; obversechimera standing (right?) with heads of a lion (in center with looking left), stag, and serpent, joined on one quadruped body at the center and radiating outward; reversegorgoneion (facing head of Medusa), snaky locks, tongue protruding, within incuse square; ex Numismatic Naumann, auction 62 (4 Feb 2018), lot 127; extremely rare; $280.00 (€238.00)

Telmessos (Fethiye, Turkey today) was the most important city of Lycia, with a recorded history starting in the 5th century B.C. The city became part of the Persian Empire after the invasion of the Persian general Harpagos in 547 B.C. Telmessos joined the Delian League in mid-5th century B.C. Although it later became an independent city, it continued its relations with the league until the 4th century B.C. Legend says in the winter of 334 - 333 B.C., Alexander the Great entered Telmessos harbor with his fleet. The commander of the fleet, Nearchus, received permission from King Antipatrides for his musicians and slaves to enter the city. Disguised warriors with weapons hidden in flute boxes captured the acropolis during the festivities that night.GB86100. Bronze AE 11, SNG Cop 135; SNGvA 4453, BMC Lycia p. 86, 2, F, rough, weight 1.389 g, maximum diameter 10.5 mm, Telmessos mint, 133 - 81 B.C.; obversehead of Hermes right, wearing petasos; reverse bee, T - E flanking head, all within incuse square; very rare; $45.00 (€38.25)